10 Terrible Live Action Anime Adaptations
9. Oldboy (2013)
The acclaimed South Korean version of Oldboy blew everyone away in 2003; it had fantastic performances, a captivating mystery, an awesome one-take fight scene and a final twist seemingly designed to crush the soul of everybody in the audience.
The movie was based on a popular manga of the same name, and when it was announced an American remake was happening the producers claimed it would be closer to that source. Needless to say, this was a pack of lies and the Spike Lee helmed version was a drab affair that copied the best bits from the 2003 version.
It didn’t even copy them well, with the fight scene becoming needlessly elaborate and the twist lacking the gut punch of the original. It feels like Lee didn’t have much love for the material and even the ever-reliable Josh Brolin was a letdown.
The film sank quietly into obscurity, where it belongs.